Watchdog Group’s Report On SignalGate Delivers Mixed Review On Hegseth’s Actions

War Secretary Pete Hegseth likely violated Pentagon regulations when he shared details about an attack on Houthi terrorists in Yemen, the Defense Department Inspector General said in a report provided to members of Congress on Tuesday evening.

The report, as The Wall Street Journal noted, also stated that Hegseth, as the War Secretary, can declassify any War Department information he chooses — meaning that although regulation states that Hegseth should not have shared sensitive information via the messaging app, Signal, his actions may not rise to the level of a violation of law.

The Inspector General’s review began in April after the contents of the Signal chat in question were made public by The Atlantic’s Jeffrey Goldberg, who was accidentally added to the group when his contact information was imported through a phone belonging to United Nations Ambassador Mike Waltz, who, at the time, was serving as President Donald Trump’s National Security Adviser.

According to the report, Hegseth received classified information — from a classified message labeled SECRET/NOFORN — about the planned attack on Houthi terrorists from Gen. Erik Kurilla, the CentCom (U.S. Central Command) commander. He then sent some of that information, albeit without the classified designation, via the Signal chat.

Hegseth has explained that he made a command decision to share that information in the moment with the group in question. The Inspector General confirmed that Hegseth has the authority to declassify War Department information. Any further inquiry may end there.

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Several members of Congress who have already read the report have gone public with their reactions — including Senator Mark Kelly (D-AZ), who made headlines in recent weeks when he took part in a video that encouraged members of the United States military to question orders in real time, insinuating that President Trump or War Secretary Hegseth either had or would give unlawful orders.

“They very clearly stated he should not be using his cellphone and putting … this kind of information on an unclassified system,” Kelly said.

Senator Eric Schmitt (R-MO) pushed back, noting that Democrats had been gunning for Hegseth since before his confirmation hearings and weren’t likely to stop any time soon.

“The arc of the story is that it’s just a never ending stream of efforts to undermine Pete Hegseth, right? The whole controversy. So they didn’t get him in the confirmation process? Make a big deal out of this,” he said, referring to the report as a “nothing burger before adding, “So it’s just an ongoing effort. I wouldn’t expect it to end with this, but I think again, the President has faith in Secretary Hegseth. I think he’s doing a great job, and it is what it is.”

The unclassified full report, which was delayed in part due to the recent government shutdown, is set to be released to the public on Thursday.